The early winter snow fell lightly, like a layer of grayish-white gauze draping over the rusty edges of the shipping container apartments. A thin layer of snow had accumulated on the patched roof of the shed, accompanied by occasional groans of metal fatigue, as if the town were turning over in a sleepy slumber.

Stepping off the shuttle, Elliot White Dove adjusted his gray trench coat, then proceeded to approach an old mechanical automaton at the entrance, cobbled together from scraps of metal.

“Greetings, I am Elliot White Dove, a divine envoy sent by the Sanctuary to investigate the strange occurrences in Agash. Please inform the local management and the Sanctuary of my arrival. Thank you very much.”

“Gods above! It’s a divine envoy!” exclaimed the old automaton, taken aback. This was its first encounter with the legendary divine envoy and instinctively took a longer look at him.

However, it soon realized that this divine envoy didn’t seem quite as extraordinary as it had imagined, especially after meeting the traveler named Yvette.

As the old automaton hurried off to relay the news, Elliot smiled to himself. As a divine envoy, he relished moments like these. He wasn’t quite sure why, but he couldn’t help but feel a rush of excitement each time he noticed others’ astonishment.

However, this created a bit of a hindrance in his training. According to his development plan, he was supposed to embody a polite, humble, and sharp-minded human detective who dressed impeccably, never smiled, and always exuded a trustworthy, mature atmosphere.

Yet every time he went on a mission, he found it hard to suppress a smug grin at others’ amazement. Was this the seemingly endless obstacle described by the gods on the path of his training?

“It’s been a while, Detective White Dove.” After a little while, Elliot heard someone call his nickname. Turning around, he spotted the elder of the town and a nun, the one greeting him being the nun, who looked somewhat familiar.

“Is… Miss Sunflower? What brings you here?” Elliot asked in surprise.

“It’s the same everywhere, as long as I can do the work of serving the gods,” the nun replied with a smile.

“Alright… um, so this is Mr. Elder?” Elliot continued.

“Yes, indeed. At last, you’ve arrived, Divine Envoy. Do you need me to elaborate on the details?” the elder asked.

“I’ve reviewed the files, but there are still some questions that need clarification…”

Two hours later, having obtained what he believed was the necessary information, Elliot left the mechanical town and entered Agash.

Of course, he wasn’t alone; he had summoned his partner, a two-story-high magical mech named “Blazing.”

Typically, Elliot and Blazing operated as a long-term duo, working in unison. Elliot’s graceful, humanoid figure allowed him to conduct more detailed investigations, while Blazing was designated specifically for combat—dealing with high-tier aberrations.

However, as they delved deeper into Agash, Elliot’s confidence soon turned to gravity.

As a specialized investigator among divine envoys, this terrifying scene was unlike anything he had ever seen. Even while seated in Blazing’s cockpit, he felt a chill creeping through him, as if a sharp, cold edge plunged into his mental core.

He unconsciously tightened his red scarf and began to recall the information relayed by the elder, searching for any clues that might solve the current predicament.

The elder had mentioned that on the day before the first incident occurred, two powerful travelers had landed in the kingdom and left three months later; coincidentally, the second incident also happened three months after that… Was there a connection between the two?

After contemplating for a moment, Elliot decisively shook his head, dismissing that line of thinking.

Nonsense! The kind and gentle mechanical kin could never commit such evil or twisted acts. They hadn’t even been infected by aberrations!

The source of the anomalies had to be entirely unrelated to those innocent travelers, which was the assessment of a professional investigator!

Then he resolved to extend his stay within Agash, planning to conduct a thorough examination of the surrounding areas of the city.

Yes, as a mature and reliable detective, he thrived on challenging tasks like this.

Within a month, he had to resolve this case and find the source of that pernicious aberration, eliminating it!

Otherwise, he wouldn’t leave!

…

A few days later, on a crisp early winter morning.

They stood on a narrow snow-laden path through a valley, flanked by mountains that resembled slumbering giants, shrouded in perennial glaciers. Through the low birch trees lining the path, remnants of iron tracks from centuries past could be seen, twisting like a red-brown serpent, vanishing into the mist at the horizon.

Wearing warm leather boots, Yvette stood atop an exposed black rock ledge, gazing at the landscape for a moment before turning to see her immobilized RV being tugged forward by a black dragon using ropes.

This peculiar sight had its origins in the night before last.

That evening, as dusk deepened, Yvette returned to a marked hunting area, hoping to capitalize on the aberration she had identified while Dugrabi and Ice Rain were asleep in the snow, gathering some aberrant magical energy for herself.

However, upon her return, she found the base camp under attack by a Phase Three aberration, which was engaged in battle with Dugrabi and Ice Rain.

Before Yvette could make a move, the aberration was swiftly dispatched by the coordinated efforts of the dragon and the mechanical girl, but unfortunately, due to their close proximity, Dugrabi inadvertently scorched her RV with dragonfire, incinerating the internal magical energy transmission structure and immobilizing it on the spot.

Consequently, to tow her vehicle towards Kuxes to look for repair parts, that task naturally fell upon Dugrabi, resulting in the comical sight of the black dragon pulling the RV forward.

Dreadful… such humiliation! Even if you are the legendary Silver Witch, I won’t forget this grudge… Dugrabi inwardly fumed.

For proud dragons, pulling a cart was a task befitting only lowly beasts. How could he be made to do such menial work?

If his father, the Flame Dragon King, were here, he wouldn’t just dismiss someone like the Silver Witch. Even the three famed true gods of the Radiant Continent wouldn’t escape unscathed should they dare to oppose him.

While he wasn’t a god, he still held the power to rival deities. That’s the essence of a Dragon King! And among them, there were six in the Dragon Kingdom!

“Hmph, one day, when I grow up, pass the Dragon King trial, and carve my true dragon name, I will come back here and show you a thing or two…”

As he exerted effort to pull the RV, he muttered to himself, but upon glancing at Yvette, who had suddenly turned to look at him, he immediately froze, quickly donning a sheepish smile, “Uh… is there something you need, Lady Witch?”

“What were you just saying?”

“What? I was just talking? Impossible!” Dugrabi exclaimed dramatically. “You must have misheard!”

“Just pull the RV.” Yvette shot him a glance.

“Yes~”

He obediently replied, lowering his head, not daring to complain further. Although this witch was a benevolent deity, who knew if she would get angry and unleash her wrath on him?

As the saying goes, when you’re under someone’s roof, you must bow your head; a dragon’s life included both distant pride and immediate practicality. In terms of life experience, his father, the Flame Dragon King, had imparted a wealth of wisdom.

As for how his father knew so much, Dugrabi was not the least bit curious.

…

The snow-filled valley reached its end, the dusky sunlight spilling over the snow like cheap oil paint, casting a sickly golden hue on the ground.

In this setting, a low, dissonant hum—a sound not quite of wind—suddenly gripped the nerves of everyone present.

Yvette halted her steps, gazing toward the mountains in the distance as a massive, grotesquely shaped creature, covered in bulging tumors and exposed, contorted bones, silently glided over the frozen peaks, casting a fleeting yet enormous shadow over the thin twilight.

It failed to notice the few tiny presences below in the snow and swiftly vanished into the dark crevices of a sinuous gorge.

Once that massive figure disappeared, Ice Rain finally dared to exhale sharply, exclaiming, “Kind-hearted lady, what was that? A flying… whale? Is it an aberration? Or, um, a wild animal?”

“An aberration.” Yvette was certain because she had clearly observed its bodily details; the exposed flesh, mutated bones, and altered head all matched the characteristics of a Phase One aberration.

Yet, she soon began to feel puzzled as well. Aberrations were based on the physical forms of living beings, and their evolutionary paths were inextricably linked to their original biology. If the affected creature had been a whale, it would undoubtedly thrive in aquatic environments, no question about it.

However, the whale she had just seen, despite its low level of evolution, appeared very much like a Phase One aberration while possessing the capability to fly—an ability normally reserved for Phase Three aberrations.

Moreover, there were virtually no whales in the northern icy seas of the Black Tide Continent. Even if a whale had been warped, it shouldn’t have wandered this close.

This contradictory situation led her to question whether her long-term observations and conclusions about aberrations might have harbored unnoticed blind spots.

Just as she was lost in thought, Dugrabi’s tense growl interrupted her, and more massive whales emerged from behind the mountains, resembling a swarm of colossal Kirov airships, casting shadows large enough to suffocate the valley below. Google seaʀᴄh NoveI-Fire.ɴet

Seeing this, Ice Rain gasped, while Dugrabi buried his head closer to the ground, wishing to avoid attracting the attention of those enormous aberrations.

Fortunately, Yvette reacted swiftly, utilizing earth magic to raise a wall for protection, blocking the gaze of those pale, cloudy eyes. Otherwise, they might have faced an assault from the swarm of whales.

Uncertain how much time had passed—what felt like a few minutes could just as easily have been several long winters—the whale swarm gradually drifted away, disappearing into the depths of the snow-covered mountains. Finally, the trembling mechanical girl and the black dragon were able to breathe a sigh of relief, experiencing the sensation of having narrowly escaped death.